Look After You
by afamiliarsmile
Summary: Damon takes Vicki hunting for the first time.


Author's note: Second fanfiction for Vampire Diaries! I'm excited. The inspiration for this story kind of just popped up during a study hall at school. I hope you enjoy it and please review to let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always appreciated but please refrain from full out flaming me.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters blah blah blah.

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Her heart was racing as she bolted through the forest. Somehow she knew she should be repulsed by the crimson staining her lips and chin. She knew that she should not be considering doing it again. But she was. It just tasted so damn good. It made her feel alive. It made her feel alive in a way any of the drugs never could.

"Vicki"

She came to a stop automatically. She peered over her shoulder, taking in the rows of trees behind her. She could see everything now. It was almost frightening. With her new eyes she was able to see the figure leaning casually against the tree. If she had not felt quite so wired there was a chance she might have been afraid of him. Maybe.

Now she was just remembering him shirtless. She remembered everything now. She had danced with him and she had shared all of her dirty little secrets with him. He had been a good listener, she recalled, kind even. Well, he had been up until he had killed her. And now what was she?

"You're a vampire"

He spoke as if he had read her mind. She guessed he had. Even now she could see his smirk which only seemed to confirm her suspicion. She licked her lips. It brought the taste back and her gums began to hurt again much to her displeasure. She saw his smirk grow toward an actual smile.

"Why did you do this to me?" Her voice sounded odd. It was careful and balanced. She did not sound angry and she did not sound upset. It was mildly surprising since she had been expecting something along those lines herself.

"On a whim really," He replied while pushing away from the tree and walking toward her. "You're getting another chance at life. You can try to build your self esteem with your time or whatever. I don't really care."

"Can I have some of your blood again?" She asked with her eyes fixed on his wrist. Her high –if that's what she could call it– was fading fast and she did remember how his blood had made her feel.

"It won't affect you the same way anymore." He paused, pulling a leaf out of her hair casually. "You need a new source of blood now."

"Will I have to kill someone?"

"Now, now, there's no need to sound horrified. No, you don't have to kill. You gain more power when you do but it isn't necessary."

"Could-could you show me?" She asked in a small voice that probably sounded like a child.

"You really have nothing to learn. Find a victim and bite." He sounded a little irritated she thought.

"I don't want to kill anyone. I might not be able to stop in time." She was pleading with him now.

"Vicki, Vicki, Vicki," He sighed but his hand was placed on her shoulder. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Teach me," She insisted, holding eye contact with him. "Teach me how to hunt. Teach me how to get into their heads."

He actually smiled. His teeth were shining just a little bit brighter than she remembered. He paused as if to deliberate but she knew he had already chosen an answer. Vicki just didn't know what that answer was and it troubled her just the smallest bit. But his arm had wrapped around her shoulder and he was steering her in the direction of town.

"Would you prefer someone familiar? Or would you like a stranger?"

"Which is less likely to scream?"

"Someone familiar. A family member works best for a first timer. They won't be quite as frightened of you and it'll be easier to get into their head."

Vicki thought he spoke from experience. He probably did. But she followed alongside him like a good little pet. A face had already flashed into her mind. It happened before she had really decided but the other person she would have chosen was out of town. Blond hair and blue eyes. Matt would forgive her. Matt always forgave her.

His voice was amused when he spoke. "Matt it is then."

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"He's going to have to invite us inside. That myth is true. Without an invitation we can't get past the door frame." He explained as they stood together across the street from her house.

"He'll just expect me to walk in. Do you have a plan to get an actual initiation?"

"Yes"

"What is it?"

"This," And then her feet her no longer touching the ground. Damon's arms were around her as he carried her bridal style. He had started walking toward her door without breaking stride. He acted as if she was no heavier than a couple of books. "Just act weak. I don't want you to be unconscious. Act cold and tired."

Vicki nodded in a helpless way, or at least what she could manage and felt satisfied when Damon praised her acting. He raised a fist and knocked on the door. The long, agonizing seconds made her doubt her brother was even home. But she had seen his truck in the driveway. She knew for certain when she heard footsteps on the other side of the door. Then the barrier was gone and Matt was looking at Damon with obvious suspicion. It didn't seem to faze him as he shifted his weight.

"I'm Stefan's brother, Damon. He called and asked me to keep an eye out for her." Damon quickly summarized in a voice that Vicki would not have doubted. "I found her wandering around the streets. She seems a little out of it but I think she'll be fine if she can get something to eat. She can try to sleep it off afterward."

"What-"Matt began but Vicki cut him off. She willed herself to sound as weak and tired as she could manage. Judging by the small squeeze Damon gave her she assumed she had been right to speak.

"Matt! I told him how to get to the house. Can you stop being a jerk and let us in? I'm hungry." She glanced up in his arms and saw Damon's knowing smile. She fought the urge to giggle.

"Right…just come in and we can get you something to eat."

Vicki could feel the exact moment she would have been allowed to walk into the house. The air around her seemed to shift. Whatever had held them from entering had lifted and her shoulders felt lighter somehow. When Damon walked into the house she found her gums began to ache. Her eyes were focused on a vein in Matt's neck. As her brother walked into the kitchen her eyes followed.

"If you want to keep him alive avoid that vein. It will kill him."

Damon moved to follow Matt. He told her what to do next as he left and Vicki had nodded. When the pair returned she found herself moving. She was standing behind them when they entered the room. Matt had actually jumped, much to her amusement,

"Vicki you probably shouldn't be standing." Always the concerned brother.

Vicki nodded. She did her best to look upset and she forced tears to come to her eyes. She fell forward against him and her brothers arms automatically wrapped around her. He whispered false promised while stroking her hair. He had asked her quietly not to cry.

"Do it now." Damon's voice was a command.

Obediently she grabbed onto Matt's hair and pulled his head to the side. Her palm snaked its way around the side of his face until it covered his mouth. It would silence any scream he would make though she hoped he'd keep quiet. Then she bit down. She had avoided the vein. Her gums did not ache anymore as she drank. She avoided looking into Matt's wide eyes and instead looked toward Damon. His own fangs were out, fully extended as he watched.

"Alright time to stop." She didn't want to. She held Matt tighter. "Vicki if you want to avoid killing him you need to stop. Normally I'd tell you to go ahead and finish it but we've already killed someone tonight. Another body is the last thing we need."

Vicki pulled away, licking her lips. Matt's knees buckled but she held him up. She felt both horrified and hungry as she looked at his neck. There weren't two neat little holes but a bloodied mess. Her eyes found Damon's and she waited for instructions.

"Look in his eyes, not mine. Now forget everything and his mind will flow into yours, you'll be able to feel it. Hold on to that and concentrate. It's all about the concentration. You'll be able to have him do whatever you want once you reach it."

Vicki did. Matt seemed almost empty when she looked at him. She wondered briefly if she had looked that way when this had been done to her. But she could not dwell on the thought long. It was more difficult to concentrate than she thought it would be, she struggled to keep her mind in tune with his. She held on as best she could until she felt ready to proceed.

"You won't remember what happened tonight. I came home and didn't feel well and went to sleep."

"You came home and went to sleep." Matt replied in monotone.

"That's all you remember."

"It's all I remember."

Vicki repeated it once more. Matt's response was the same. Vicki walked him over to the couch and sat him down. Damon moved then and turned his head to the side to examine the wound on his neck. Vicki cringed. She watched with morbid fascination as he lifted his own wrist to his mouth and bit before bringing the small wound to Matt's lips.

"What are you doing?" Vicki asked in a whisper.

"The blood will help his neck heal. You can't leave that mark, someone will know." Damon replied after Matt had swallowed. He pulled his wrist away and they both watched as the wound closed.

Damon picked up Matt effortlessly and Vicki followed up the stairs behind him and pointed out her brother's room. He was dumped on the bed and Vicki was lead out of the room. She went to her own automatically, Damon followed. She had moved to the window and was focusing on the tree in her yard. The new power racing through her was exhilarating and she wanted to go out. She knew she couldn't, that she shouldn't.

"You did well." Vicki turned to face Damon, caught off guard by his praise. "Matt won't remember a thing. But I'm going to need you to do something for me. Well, for you actually."

"What is it?" She asked with mild irritation.

"Stay inside tomorrow. Act sick and sleep. The sun will burn you so keep out of it."

"You go out in the sun." Vicki remarked, feeling like a child again.

"I have a ring." He sounded irritated too, she noticed, like he had told the story one too many times.

"I want one." Yeah, she definitely sounded like a spoiled child asking for another toy.

"They're rare to come across." He barked back before turning to leave the room.

"Will you come back tomorrow?" She asked with honest curiosity. She watched as he came to a stop. The muscles in his back tensed. He did not turn around though.

"I don't know yet."

He was gone after she blinked. Her breath was caught in her throat. She did not hear him leave. It was more she _felt_ him leave. His presence was gone abruptly and she just knew. She settled into bed, her legs pulled up to her chest. She paused, trying to gasp for air. Then the tears came down and she found herself in the same situation she had been in the past couple of nights.

But so much had changed.

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And that's it! Please review and let me know what you think.


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